The haunting loneliness of Lag Ja Gale... the declaration of both love and war in the rebellious Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya... the song of freedom and aspiration in Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai... the naughtiness in love with Baahon Me Chale Aao...
Lata Mangeshkar is credited with thousands of songs in as many as 36 Indian languages over a period of almost eight decades, but there were some tracks that stuck with her, something the melody queen also went on to acknowledge in her later years.
In an interview with PTI in October 2021, Mangeshkar said she still remembers how lyricist-poet Gulzar's words Meri awaaz hi pehchan hai from the song Naam Gum Jaayega in his 1977 directorial Kinara came to reflect her own storied journey in music with her fans conflating her voice with her identity.
Mangeshkar, who passed away on Sunday morning, had said she remembers vividly the day she did the playback for the song.
"Everyone in the country knows that Gulzarsaab writes beautifully. He also speaks beautifully. When I was singing (this song), he came to me and gently said, 'Meri awaaz hi pehchan hai aur ye hai pehchan.' He said something like this. But later, I also started saying that 'my voice is my identity'. And now whoever sings that song or writes about me says those lines," Mangeshkar had said.
In his homage to the Nightingale of India, Akshay Kumar quoted the lines from Naam Gum Jaayega.
'Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hain, Gar Yaad Rahe and how can one forget such a voice! Deeply saddened by the passing away of Lata Mangeshkar ji, my sincere condolences and prayers. Om Shanti,' Kumar tweeted.
But just like her many diverse songs are her many listeners who have their own favourites they remember the singer by.
For Masaan Director Neeraj Ghaywan, it is another song penned by Gulzar -- Humne Dekhi Hai Un Aankhon Ki from the 1969 film Khamoshi, directed by Asit Sen.
The song, picturised on Waheeda Rehman, makes a case for those bonds that shouldn't be 'tainted' by the society by putting a label to them.
'Na ye bujhti hai, na rukti hai, na thehri hai kahin, noor ki boond hai sadiyon se baha karti hai... sirf ehsaas hai ye rooh se mehsoos karo...' tweeted Ghaywan.
Mangeshkar's melancholic lilt to Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye, lip synced by Meena Kumari in 1960's Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, is one of the most iconic songs of all time.
Over 50 years later too, the song continues to resonate in pop culture: Bombay Talkies, the 2013 anthology had one segment directed by Karan Johar which borrowed its title from the song.
Ajeeb Dastan Hain Ye underlines the absurdities and ironies of life, something which was viewed with a different lens in the form of another anthology called Ajeeb Daastaans which premiered on Netflix in 2021.
The haunting loneliness of Lag Ja Gale, the declaration of both love and war in the rebellious Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, the song of freedom and aspiration in Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai to the naughtiness in love with Baahon Me Chale Aao, Mangeshkar had done it all in her heyday.
And yet, the singing legend's twilight years were just as illuminating with a Jiya Jale here and a Tere Liye there.
The singer may have passed on, but her songs will live on in the collective memory of Indians.
